Floor construction



' G. F. KOTRBATY FLOOR CONSTRUCTION Filed Oct. 2a, 1933 Feb. 12, 1935.

Patented :Feb. 1 2, 1 935 UNITED; STATES PATENT OFFICE FLOORCONSTRUCTION Guy F. Kotrbaty, New York, N. Y.

Application October 28,

19 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in floor constructions and moreparticularly to a. novel flooring unit adapted to form a truss-formfloor beam channel when used with similar units.

In my prior Patent No. 1,877,898, issued September 20, 1932, my pendingapplication Serial- No. 509,237, filed January 16, 193-1, and Serial No.474,156, filed August 9, 1930, allowedOctober 6, 1933, there h'ave beendisclosed construction units and beam sections adapted for flooring andwhich are characterized by a high degree of structural efficiency.

It is an object of thecpresent invention to provide an improved flooringunit and beam section.

It is also an object of this invention to provide such an improvedflooringflunit havinglaterally offset bottom portions.

'A further object of-this invention is the provision of an'improvedflooring unit having portions adapted to support a plastic mass andcer-- tain other portions adapted to be embedded insaid mass.

Yet another object of this invention is the provision of an improvedflooring comprisinga plurality'of juxtaposed. units having abuttedlateral flanges adapted to receive and support an initially plasticbuilding material.

Yet another object of this invention is the provision .of an improvedmethod of floor con-, struction. I 4 These and other desirable objectsand advantages of the present invention will be illustrated in theaccompanying drawing and described in the speciflcatioma certainpreferred embodiment being disclosed by way of illustration, for, sincethe underlying principles may be incorporated in other specificmechanical structures, it is not intendedto be limited to the ones hereshown, except as suchlimitations are clearly imposed by the appendedclaims. 1

In the drawingJike numerals refer to similar parts throughout theseveral views, of which Fig. 1 is a top plan view,'partly in, verticalsection, of a flooring including the novel units j of the presentinvention.

for engaging plastic disposed in the beam section.

Referring now to the drawing, there is disclosed an improved flooringunit or. grid comprising a bottom section 1 and atop. section 2 of tionor beam member.

1933, Serial No. 695,603

suitable material such as metal lath or the like, provided with aplurality of suitably disposed stiffening ribs 3 which may be formedintegrally in the metal or comprise separate strips suitably securedthereto. The sections between the stiffening'ribs 3 may-be formed ofexpanded metal, indicated generally at 4, or any suitable foraminousstructure, 'so as to provide a receptive and locking surface for appliedplastic materialsin dicated generally by the numeral 5. The rib por- 10tions 3 are preferablybent inwardly with respect to the centers of thegrids in order to provide further looking for the plastic coat, thesections 6 thereof serving to prevent displacement of the plastic due totemperaturechanges.

As above intimated, the novel flooring units 0 the present invention areso configured and arranged as to provide a truss-form floor beamchannel, which channel when filled with concrete or other suitablestructural plastic material 20 is adapted to form a composite beammember.- The flooring units comprise bottom sections 1 and top sections2, joined together b'y spacers 7. These members include averticalsection 8 together with an outwardlyextending portion '9 25 formingtogether a substantially, L-shaped sec- The member 9' is bent uponitself at its end to form a gripping portion 10 adapted to engage thesides of the member 1. To improve the grip or crimping efiect of the 30member 10 it is preferred to oifset it as indicated at 11 to secure abetter bite on the material when the member 10 is crimped in position.At, the upper end of the L the member 7 is bent outwardly toform asection parallel to *member 1 5 and serve as a support for the metalsections 2. Sections 13 are provided with gripping portions 10, 11, asare the sections 9. The channel 14 formed between members 12 and 13 isadapted to serve as a plastic receiving space and its func- 40 tion willbe adverted to more in detail hereinafter. Referring to Figs. 1 and 2 itwill be seen that by juxtaposing a plurality of units of the type abovedescribed in such a manner that the flanges 9 abut, there is formed aplurality of truss-form .fioor beam channels designated generally by thenumeral 15, which channels include side members 'Zand a bottom member9-9. To improve the structural efliciency of the composite beam memberformed by filling the channel 15 with 60, the plastic material 5, abovereferred to, the stresses imposed on the inner portions of the concretebeam 16 are carried to the outside steel form sections '7, which inthemselves constitute a steel beam, by means of staggered rows of utongues 17, formed from the sections 8 of the steel members and adaptedto penetrate into the concrete beam 16 a suflicient distance to take upthe stresses above noted. The apertures 18 formed by punchingout thetongues 17, as well as apertures 19 formed in the base sections 9, serveto permit the plastic material to flow therethrough and provide furtherlocking for the composite member. The channel 14 also serves to provideadditional reinforcement to the concrete beam in that it provides ashouldered support .for the body of the concrete beam, as well asproviding a composite steel and concrete support for the flooring member2 and the superposed plastic coating.

It will be noted that the tongues 17 entering into the bottom or tensionportion of the concrete beam permit the stresses imposed upon theintersections of the beam to be directly transmitted to the steel formmembers, and, thus, utilize the structural strength of the steel to itsfullest advantage while securing the desirable rigidity and strength ofthe concrete beam section. The provision of the apertures 18, 19, abovedescribed, permits the securing of a monolithic bond between the severalparts of the units comprising a floor construction.

The tongues 17, instead of being formed inwardly from the channelmembers may be formed separately and secured to the said members in anysuitable manner as welding, brazing or riveting. This construction hasthe advantage of permitting the decoration of the outside of the channelmembers where the lath sections 1 are dispensed with and it is desiredto have a roof beam simulating that of massive oak or like construction.

The composite beams formed as a part of the improved flooring areparticularly adapted to replace present type wood or metal floor joistswhile securing the advantage of a reinforced concrete and metalconstruction.

If desired, the beam section 7 may be extended upwardly at 8 andoutwardly at 8a, instead of being bent inwardly, to form the channelsection 14. This construction maybe desirable in flooring units whichare not intended to support heavy loads.- The advantages of the concretesection 14 may be secured, to a certain extent, by inverting certain ofthe tongues 17, as indicated at 17a in Fig. 3.

The sections 1 of the flooring members are adapted to serve as plasticreceiving surfaces for ceilings, although if desired they may bedispensed with and the composite beams finished directly on the outsidewith a suitable plastic coat or provided with a facing of wood tosimulate wooden beams.

It will be apparent that the novel method of the present inventionprovides a new and useful construction for floors generally, and onewhich is susceptible of considerable variation without departing fromthe spirit of the invention. The novel improvements herein disclosedpermit the combination of the structural strength of steel with the easeof application of plastic building materials and the combination of suchmaterials into structural units embodying a maximum or strength whilemaintaining the materials used at a desired minimum in weight.

What is claimed is:

1. A composite beam member comprising a pair of L-shaped truss-form beamchannel sections having the horizontal legs outwardly disposed andhaving their free edges in mutually abutting relation, said channelsections having tongues extending into the channel formed between thesaid sections and a filling of structural plastic material in saidchannel monolithically bonded thereto.

2. A channel section member for construction units including an L-shapedstructure having struck out tongue portions in the vertical legs andgripping portions on the ends of both the vertical and horizontal legs.

3. A channel section member for floor grid units including an L-shapedstructure having gripping portions on the freeends of the legs of the L.

4. A channel section member for construction units including an L-shapedstructure having struck out tongue portions in the vertical web, andgripping portions on the ends of both the vertical and horizontal legs,the vertical leg of the L being formed with a reentrant channel portion.

5. A channel section member for floor grid units including an L-shapedstructure having gripping portions on the free ends of the legs, theupper end of the vertical leg being formed with a reentrant channelportion.

6. A composite beam member comprising a pair of truss-form beam channelsections in abutting relation, said channel sections being apertured andhaving tongues extending into the channel formed between the saidsections, a filling of structural plastic material in said channel, anda coating of plastic on the exterior of said channel and monolithicallybonded to said filling.

'7. An improved building construction unit comprising a grid having atop portion and a bottom portion of greater extent than the top portion,and a pair of L-shaped channel section:

having outwardly extending'horizontal legs and vertical legs disposedbetween the said top and bottom and respectively secured thereto at thefree ends of the legs.

8. An improved building construction unit comprising a pair of L-shapedchannel members pro-- vided with outwardly disposed horizontal legs andvertical legs, both legs having gripping portions on the free ends ofthe L and a pair of spaced structural sheet members respectively securedto the channel members at the said free ends.

9. An improved building construction unit comprising a top portion and abottom portion of greater extent than the top portion and a pair ofL-shaped channel sections disposed between the said top and bottom, theupper legs of the L's being provided with reentrant channel sections,and the horizontal legs of the L's being outwardly disposed, said topand bottom members being respectively secured to the free ends of theL-shaped members.

10. An improved building construction unit comprising a pair of L-shapedchannel members provided with gripping portions at the free ends of theUs, the vertical legs of the Us being provided with reentrant channelsections, the horizontal legs of the L's being outwardly-disposed,

and a pair of spaced structural sheet members redisposed between thesaid top and bottom portions, the said vertical legs of the Us beingprovided with reentrant channel sections, said top and bottom membersbeing respectively secured to the free ends of the L-shaped members.

12. An improved building construction unit comprising a pair ofL-shaped. channel members having vertical legs, and outwardly disposedhorizontal legs gripping portions on the free ends of the L, outwardlyextending tongues in the vertical legs, the vertical legs of the L'sbeing further provided with reentrant channel sections, and a pair ofspaced structural sheet members respectively secured to the channelmembers and spaced thereby.

13. An improved building construction unit comprising a pair of L-shapedchannel members having vertical legs and outwardly disposed horizontallegs gripping portions on the free ends or the L, outwardly extendingtongues in the vertical legs, the vertical legs of the Us being furtherprovided with reentrant channel sections,

and a pair of spaced foraminous structural sheet members respectivelymembers. 4

14. An improved building construction unit comprising a pair of L-shapedchannel members having vertical legs and outwardly disposed horizontallegs gripping portions on the free ends of theL outwardlyextending'ton'gues in the vertical legs, the vertical legs of the L'sbeing further provided with reentrant channel sections, and a pair ofspaced ribbed structural sheetlmembers respectively secured to thechannel members.

15. An improved building construction unit comprising a pair of L-shapedchannel members having vertical legs and outwardly disposed horizontallegs gripping portions on the free ends of the L outwardly extendingtongues in the vertical legs, the vertical legs or the Us being furtherprovided with reentrant channel sections, and a pair ofspaced foraminousand secured to the channel ribbed structural sheet members respectivelysecured to the channel members.

16. An improved floor construction, comprising, in combination, aplurality of self-supporting open-ended abutted floor grids, said gridscomprising top and bottom portions secured and spaced by L-shaped sideportions, the bottoms of said side portions being laterally extended,outwardly, and abutting against similar portions of like units to formchannel sections; tongues secured to the side sections, a filling ofstructural plastic material in the so-formed channels and in keyingengagement with the tongues and a coating of plastic material overlyingthe assembly to form a finished floor surface.

1'7. An improved floor construction, comprising, in combination, aplurality of self-supporting, open-ended abutted floor grids, said gridscomprising top and bottom portions secured and spaced by L-shaped sideportions, the bottoms of of said side portions being laterally extendedoutwardly, and abutting against similar portions of like units to formchannel sections; tongues secured to the side sections, a filling ofstructural plastic material in the so-formed channel and in keyingengagement with the tongues, a coating of plastic material overlying theassembly to form a finished floor surface and a coat of plasticoverlying the lower surfaces of the assembly. I 18. An improved floorconstruction, comprising, in combination, a plurality of abutted,openended floor grids being self-supporting and, said grids comprisingtop and bottom panel portions secured to and spaced by L-shaped sideportions, the bottoms of said side p'ortions'being laterally extendedwith their free edges abutting against similar portions of like units toform channel sections; a filling of structural plastic material in theso-formed channels, and a coating of plastic material overlying theassembly to form a finished floor surface.

19. An improved floor construction, comprising, in combination, aplurality oi. abutted, openended floor grids, being self-supporting andsaid grids comprising top and bottom panel portions secured to andspaced by L-shaped side portions, the bottoms of said side portionsbeing laterally extended with their free edga abutting against similarportions or like unitsto form channelsections; a filling of structuralplastic material in the so-formed channels, a coating or plasticmaterial overlying the assembly to form a finished floor surface and acoat of plastic overlying the lower surfaces of the assembly.

, GUY F. KOTRBA'I'Y.

